Oscillators can be found in numerous fields of technology, and are widely used for example in computers, telecommunication equipment and other electronic systems. With the ever-increasing demand for faster and more effective electronic systems comes the need for more and more sophisticated oscillators. In particular, the ever-increasing data processing and transmission rates in modern electronic systems reduce the timing margins between correlated signals and events.
In this respect, a major source of uncertainty are the variations, commonly referred to as phase noise or jitter, in the output signal period of the various clock signals that are used as timing references in such a system. Therefore, clock oscillators with high phase stability and low phase noise are of outmost importance in synchronous high-speed electronic systems.